Vivienne Westwood to launch fragrance lines

British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is launching her own fragrances next year.

A women’s fragrance will be developed first, by Lancaster, the cosmetics arm of German company Benckiser. It will be followed by a male fragrance two years later.

All the fragrances will be available in Vivienne Westwood stockists and in a small number of se- lected department stores across the UK.

A Vivienne Westwood spokeswoman says the designer is launching the fragrances as a way of broadening the brand name but will maintain strict control over distribution.

The brand will launch in Europe after a trial period in the UK, where the perfume will cost between 30 and 40.

Vivienne Westwood showed her collection at last week’s London Fashion Week for the first time in seven years.

Other designers which used the event to launch into the fragrance market include Red or Dead, which is developing a range of scented clothing in conjunction with Elida Fabergé’s new Impulse body spray, ID.

The fragrance is designed to stay on the clothes for about five washes. The launch will be supported by a cross-media advertising campaign.

Mulberry fashion house is using ballerina Darcey Bussell to promote its first female fragrance, called Mulberry for Women.